Cost of game development and maintenance of an MMORPGYeah, an engineer getting paid $25k/year will get you a lot of useless code. I think this is a pretty atrocious "general" estimate. I have to agree with other users: this question is impossible to answer without further details. An "MMO" can cost $20k to $100m depending on the scope.

Aug30

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What makes a computer opponent feel alive?I wish I could up-vote this SO MUCH MORE. I've worked on two triple-A FPS's and can't emphasize how important quality animations (peeking, gesturing, moving) and audio (saying intent, questioning, conversing) are to creating a great environment. AI isn't about beating the player, it's about conveying realism, a huge portion of realism is how we move and sound.

Aug30

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Is game development a super elite club?Every game company I've worked for (EA, THQ, Arkadium) has paid for ad space as well as head hunters. The fact is, there's a dearth of experienced developers. The important word in there is "experienced."